Ray Beecham and his mates are a teen soap waiting to happen. All with the same millennial-sounding names (Alita? Talya?) these kids are privileged achievers with a little too much to say about the torments of their pscyhe.

We look set to be taken on a familiar road of suburban strife until Bramton pitches a curved ball; they're banging each other senseless, loved up on that most elusive of Class As, Crystal Meth.

Alita's 15-year-old kid brother's the one doing the dealing, but as his operation grows he treads on some highly sensitive toes.

It's a testament to Bramton's skill that the plot doesn't thicken until page 98, but you won't mind the wait. From thereon in you'll be fed a diet of high-fibre action; from drug barons to the sticky ennui of the small town scene. Things happen fast in Coast. You won't be disappointed.

— Jackie Crank 05.07.00